As reported last week, the Constitutional Challenge and Injunction to HB 119 filed against Kevin McCarty of the Office of Insurance Regulation, in the Circuit Court in Leon County, Florida, was voluntarily dismissed on November 20, 2012. A similar lawsuit was filed in Federal Court (Middle District). A hearing is set to take place on December 13th in Tampa.

The Constitutional Challenge and Injunction to HB 119 filed against Kevin McCarty of the Office of Insurance Regulation, in the Circuit Court in Leon County, Florida, was voluntarily dismissed on November 20, 2012. A similar lawsuit was filed in Federal Court (Middle District). To date there has been no response to the federal filing.

We have created a flyer that will help you inform your patients about the changes in PIP and it is now posted for your easy printing. Next week, the FCA will send a large, 4-color poster version to you for display in your reception room.

Update:

In response to member requests, we've also included a PDF file of the large (11”x17”) 4-color poster.

You may already have heard
that a constitutional challenge has been filed in Leon County Circuit
Court against House Bill 119 (“new” PIP) just last Friday, Sept. 21st. A summary of the Complaint prepared by FCA Counsel is posted for your viewing below.

As
we reported back in late-July, both Paul Lambert and Kim Driggers have
been serving on an ad hoc committee comprised of appellate,
constitutional, and PIP lawyer members of the Florida Justice
Association, who analyzed the possible constitutional challenges to
House Bill 119. It was the position of those on the Committee that a
constitutional challenge was not ripe. The committee looked at the
issues contained in the recently filed Complaint and others, and did not
support the filing of a lawsuit for declaratory or injunctive relief on
the legal theories presented.

The FCA continues to be engaged with the FJA (Florida Justice Association) in an ad hoc committee to study and determine if there are any valid challenges that can be made to the new statute and how and when they might be made. The Committee consists of some of the best and brightest in the relevant fields (Constitutional, Appellate, and PIP) and it has studied the issues, had numerous phone conferences and met in person. To date, the committee has not been able to identify any challenge that can be brought at this time that would be likely to succeed in bringing any relief to health care professionals who will have PIP coverage for their services reduced or eliminated by the new law.

The primary changes to the new PIP law do not go into effect until January 1, 2013, including the provision that eliminates massage and acupuncture as a reimbursable medical benefit under PIP. While a “glitch” to the effective date of July 1, 2012, exists, the FCA understands, based on the memo from the Agency for Health Care Administration, that auto insurers will NOT deny PIP benefits between July 1st and January 1st.

The FCA has joined the FJA (Florida Justice Association) in an ad hoc committee to study and determine if there are any valid challenges that can be made to the new statute and how and when they might be made. The Committee consists of some of the best and brightest in the relevant fields (Constitutional, Appellate, and PIP) and it has studied the issues, had numerous phone conferences and met in person.

The buzz continues around the pending changes to Florida’s PIP/No-fault insurance system since the Legislature passed a series of reforms in early March, just approved on May 4th by Gov. Rick Scott. Here’s a look at the very latest happenings on several fronts, as all of the stakeholders involved continue to try to make sense of the changes and map a course for the future.

On the government front…

A letter authored by State Rep. Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg) released to the media earlier this week asks Gov. Scott some tough questions relating to the forthcoming PIP changes.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) on Tuesday
issued a memo attempting to fix a flaw in the new PIP law. In the memo,
AHCA General Counsel Stuart Williams outlines legal reasoning why the
Agency “believes that the Act applies the same effective date of January
1, 2013 to both” the new requirement for clinic licensure and the list
of providers exempted from it (MD, DO, DC, dentists, hospitals, medical
schools, etc.)